When you kid finishes curriculum too early in the year....

[KrissiK]

What do you do? Just stop until next school year? Or pick up the next year's book? Dd is doing Prima Latina, and at the rate she's going, she'll finish it in early April. She's doing well, seems to understand, etc. so, I'm thinking about starting her in Latina Christiana I as soon as she's done with PL. Of course this will continue to put her ahead, and she'll end up starting First Form in 4th grade, which isn't so bad, since we may need to slow down anyhow a bit once we get to the Form Series. But, I'm just wondering, in general, what do people do?

[Dmmetler]

Latin is one of the subjects that I don't stop, but I do go to different curriculum over the summer. For a third grader, Minimus the Mouse, Song School Latin 2 if she hasn't already done it, Mango Latin if your library has it (mostly translation and immersion-my DD really enjoyed it) Headventureland, or getting a subscription online to the Cambridge Latin website (there are a few stories in CLC A that are a bit old for a 3rd grader, but again, my DD really loved being able to read Latin, and the website is more friendly for young kids than the textbooks are. I wouldn't suggest just using the website if you wanted to use it as a curriculum, because it's too easy to click on a word and see it translated, but it's a nice addition as a supplement) might all be good choices.

 

 

 

 

[Arcadia]

For languages, if we finish early, we review grammar and vocabulary until kids are proficient before moving on.

[wintermom]

For some subjects, like math, I would just continue on with the next level. I would go at a pace which seemed to fit the child best, speeding up or slowing down when needed.

 

Some subjects I'd just be finished for that year, and gradually have fewer subjects in the spring until the school year ended. We usually end up doing a lot more outdoor activities in the spring, as well as more music concerts and performances, so it was nice to have a shorter day for seatwork.

 

Sometimes we didn't quite get finished the curriculum for the year. I found that harder to deal with. I never found the time or energy to try to complete it in the summer, the dc and I all needed a break. If it was readers or read-alouds, I would shelve them until the next year.  

[Dory]

When the kids finish something ahead of time they get to have a short break from that subject. Usually about a week is as long as I like to leave it though. Then we move on to the next thing.

[Loesje22000]

It depends on how early.

If a dc finishes something at the beginning of the second semester, I pick a new grade.

If a dc finished early,but it was hard work, I pick an elective.

If a dc finish halfway the second semester I also pick an elective.

On 3/4 of the second semester I just shorten our days, especially when it is lovely weather.

We have long and gray winters, and then we make long intensive days.

After Pentecost I don't start new subjects anymore.

Except music,

Somehow we had never time for music in the winter.

It didn't work.

But in the last weeks of the schoolyear we did every day music, and finished a whole year of music that way.

[kiana]

It would depend somewhat on the subject and on whether they liked it or not.

 

If it were science/history and they didn't like it, I'd just let that subject be over for the year. If they liked it, I'd invite them to choose a fun elective to study for the rest of the year -- basically "choose something you find interesting and read library books about it."

 

For math/english/language I don't really like leaving huge gaps between one level and the next, so the options I'd consider would be:

1) Continue review of the same level using enrichment -- for example, for math, work on games/puzzles while doing arithmetic review once a week, using a summer review workbook or something -- for english, have them read books of interest -- for language, either use an enrichment curriculum or use songs/games/dual-language books to keep skills fresh.

2) Move ahead into the next level of the same curriculum. 

 

I'd consider 1) more appropriate for a student who really doesn't care for the subject and has no desire to be accelerated and 2) more appropriate for a student who enjoys the subject or wants to be accelerated. 

[ErinE]

Like others, it depends on the subject and the date completed. We take long holidays for Christmas and the month of July.

 

Math, spelling/vocabulary, and foreign language I move onto the next thing. These subjects need constant practice and review. If we are close to a holiday (like Christmas or summer), I'll let the child take a break and pick it back up when school starts again. If the curriculum was done in April, I'd purchase the next level for work in May and June.

 

For content subjects like history and science, I just let the child pick out books from the library once the curriculum is done. I don't use the next thing in grammar either although I will review concepts in their writing.

[Coco_Clark]

It depends. For a skill like Latin, I would either tread water with a lateral program or self-made review until the next year OR I would just keep chugging along with the next book. My DS just blew through LOE Foundations so I'm starting Essentials a half year earlier than planned :/. It seemed a better plan than review because it will give us the time to go through it very slowly.

 

In a content subject we either finish for the year, or fill it with a new content subject based on interest.

 

This is why I pace our curricula pretty carefully. I hate finishing early. But it does happen.

[IsabelC]

Depends on the situation. Options include:

Go 'deeper' on the subject, or a part of the subject, according to interest.

Incorporate more fun elements you might not normally have time for.

Do a special project that is related to the subject.

Or, of course, plow on into the next level.

Another option which I don't use would be to take a break from the subject in question and do a short 'subject' that you have been wanting to do but haven't yet found time for.

[Hunter]

Does the next level come with a lot fof review? Is the next level meant to be started after a review? If the next level is meant to be started after a review I like to let a student take a break and do an elective or some enrichment or double up on something they are behind in.

[LucyStoner]

For language and math, we review and add in interesting topics and then move on to the next thing. For other things, we might swap in another subject. For instance, my son is finished with a history project on Greece and most of his intended science materials so we are starting up a geography text for the rest of the school year.

 

When he was in the 4th grade is was done with math months early and I wanted to hold off on what we had planned next so he just kept with his weekend math enrichment and we explored problems from other texts. He started AOPS pre-a the following fall.

[Based on Faith Academy]

My daughter enjoys school much more so than my son so I always have the next years math and language already

purchased and we move right into that. As she gets older she is slowing down because she isn't too excited about

the work that math entails but when it comes to language she would do four pages a day if I let her.

[PeacefulChaos]

For me, it depends on the subject and how much school is left when they finish.  

 

Things like math, we move on to the next one.  Latin I would probably let slide until next year - but we don't really love Latin here.  :P  Link has done 2.5 years of it and once he finishes this book (should be next week), he doesn't have to do any more.  To get him to just finish the book, I had to make him wait to start Japanese (which he's wanted to learn since he was 3) til it was done, so he would have an incentive lol.  :D  Astro will probably only do one year - next year - unless he surprises us all and loves it or something.  

 

Also, if it was mid April and we would be finishing school in early May, I wouldn't start anything new.  If it's mid April and we'll be going to June, I'd be more likely to go ahead with new stuff... or not.  It always depends on how burned out I am at that point.  :lol:

[Mukmuk]

I don't know about Latin, but we tend to move ahead to the next book when ds is ready. We don't school according to grade level or to a fixed year, but according to level of material. Where I think he is on shaky ground despite finishing the text, I would introduce a different curriculum but at the pre-existing level. This avoids repetition (he's allergic!) while at the same time serves as revision. I've also done unit study type revision, particularly for math.

 

Ds tends to be faster for math, and slower for language arts. For LA, we move as and when he finishes, which isn't always within a prescribed year. I've added lots of concurrent material to help him along. The idea is the same- we start on the next book when he's ready.

[Tanikit]

I get out the next book, or find something that is not review but is still part of the same subject - particularly for the 3Rs I find even having a 6 week holiday at the end of the year will result in losing some of the skills so I am not keen to have a long break. If I find the next book is too difficult then we may slow it down or find something else to review certain skills in a different way.

[Guest2]

We just have a end of course celebration . They get to go out to lunch with Mom and Dad by themselves ( see how we made sure the teaches get a lunch out too?:). Then we start the next thing. We go year round, but only four days a week for non highschoolers. We take lots of breaks, but I don't see the point of slowing down if they don't need to, or rushing to finish by some arbitrary date . You Latin sounds like a solid plan, doesn't MP have some games, payers ect that go with Latina Christina? If I remember correctly, Latin slows down..but I may be thinking of First Form which was pretty difficult for my kids.

[KrissiK]

I think I am going to have her go on to LC. Prima Latina was such a gentle introduction that she really can't go on to something laterally, because she only knows a few prayers and some vocab. But I don't want her to lose even that between April and August, which is when we would be starting the next school year. However, I do wish there were more things laterally for the Form Series, because that's where I've been needing to slow down a bit and review. I did find a translation sight that is supposed to align with First and Second Form, but it seems a little tough to me. My Second Form boy is using the First Form sentences. But he does seem to be able to do them pretty easily. I have him do a page or so of translations between each lesson.